Target to hire 120,000 for holidays, FedEx aims for 55,000

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Target to hire 120,000 for holidays, FedEx aims for 55,000

NEW YORK — Target plans to hire more than 120,000 people for the busy holiday shopping season, a 20 percent increase from last year.

The retailer says the temporary hires will stock store shelves and check people out at the register. In addition, it plans to hire 7,500 people to pack online orders at its warehouses. Target says it will pay workers $12 an hour, a dollar more an hour than last year.

With a strong job market, retailers will likely face a harder time attracting workers for the holidays since workers can be pickier about where they work. Target says it will hold hiring events at stores next month.

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has more than 1,800 stores around the country.

FedEx Corp. plans to hire 55,000 temporary workers, a slight increase over last year, for what it expects to be a record-breaking Christmas season. The Memphis, Tennessee-based company is expanding U.S. ground-delivery operations to six days a week year-round because of the boom in online shopping. FedEx already runs six or seven days a week during the holiday season.

Rival United Parcel Service Inc. is expected to announce its holiday-hiring plans in the next few days.